INKANATURA'S BLOG

For the past 12 years students from Wayland Middle School have come to Peru to take an active approach to making a positive difference in communities that have very little to offer their children when it comes to study and health.

The change has not only occurred in the communities that were helped in the surrrounding communities of Chachapoyas in Amazonas region, but also in the children who came to help them

We would like to share Betsy Gavron, Principal Wayland Middle School February 2014 speech

Wayland Middle School Principal's Message

Dear Families,

Our annual January House Block celebration to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a very special tradition at Wayland Middle School. This year was no exception. The jazz band performed, several 8th grade students shared candle lighting tributes, the select chorus sang, and we viewed a multi-media presentation that showcased students engaged in service learning throughout our building. Additionally one of our 8th graders shared her art inspired by Dr. King's words and another paid tribute through a song. Finally choral readers presented a rendition of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. In this newsletter, I share with you the remarks I offered our school community as my small part in this wonderful day.

Respectfully,Betsy Gavron, Principal

Good morning. Have you ever dropped a pebble in a pond? That small act creates ripples outward, changing the surface of the water. It disturbs the calm far beyond the pebble's point of entry. An activist is a person who, like the pebble, looks to create ripples. An activist takes a stand, often for a political cause, in pursuit of change, bringing our attention to complicated issues in hopes of disrupting the norm and reshaping the future. Today, we come together to honor one such activist for equality, our 8th grade house mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose actions made waves in a quest for justice. We will look at the everyday people King inspired including children, like yourselves, leading them to become active participants in the Civil Rights movements. This morning, I would like us to consider how we might be inspired in our own lives to consider activism around our beliefs.

Dr. King was a provocative leader who lived at a time when black men and women were not afforded the same civil rights as their white counterparts. In the 1950s and '60s, riding buses, voting, lodging in hotels, and using public restrooms were among the everyday activities that were not equally accessible to all citizens of our country. Unable to accept the discriminatory societal conditions, King united Americans to demand the equality promised in our constitution. Racially charged taunts and physical violence were often to be expected as King and like-minded activists risked their lives to challenge unjust laws and practices. Yet King was relentless in his non-violent pursuit of civil rights. Despite being arrested nearly twenty times King pressed on and traveled throughout the country speaking at sites of injustice. He believed that African Americans deserved the same basic rights and opportunities of as their white counterparts and didn't miss an opportunity to raise his voice to disrupt the sea of discrimination. In the face of hatred and intolerance, he spoke of love, hope, unity, and freedom and looked for the promise of these ideals to ripple outward.

Dr. King was a provocative leader who lived at a time when black men and women were not afforded the same civil rights as their white counterparts. In the 1950s and '60s, riding buses, voting, lodging in hotels, and using public restrooms were among the everyday activities that were not equally accessible to all citizens of our country. Unable to accept the discriminatory societal conditions, King united Americans to demand the equality promised in our constitution. Racially charged taunts and physical violence were often to be expected as King and like-minded activists risked their lives to challenge unjust laws and practices. Yet King was relentless in his non-violent pursuit of civil rights. Despite being arrested nearly twenty times King pressed on and traveled throughout the country speaking at sites of injustice. He believed that African Americans deserved the same basic rights and opportunities of as their white counterparts and didn't miss an opportunity to raise his voice to disrupt the sea of discrimination. In the face of hatred and intolerance, he spoke of love, hope, unity, and freedom and looked for the promise of these ideals to ripple outward.

As you might imagine recruiting and involving young people in the Civil Rights Movement was controversial, and not all agreed with the risks involved in putting children in harms way. On the second day of the march, Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety, Bull Connor, ordered fire hoses and attack dogs to be turned on the children. So many students were arrested for "parading without a permit," that jails quickly became overcrowded and children were brought to make-shift holding areas on fairgrounds and left to sleep on cots. While it was a scary, life-altering experience, the arrested youth remained positive and united, singing freedom songs to buoy their spirits while awaiting movement leaders to raise the funds to bail them out. The images of violence against children during the Birmingham Children's Crusade brought national headlines and waves of public outcry, creating a societal demand for an end to segregation.

InKaNatura Travel contributes heavily to the maintenance of national parks, reserves, and archaeological sites while at the same time treating local people with respect and dignity which we consider as conservation through tourism.